08-02-2020, 12:39 PM
He was drowning again. The last thing he remembered was sitting in the beginnings of a new teahouse, tasting his own brews when the world suddenly went dark around him. Then it went cold and his senses dulled the way they do when one goes underwater. He gasped out of fear and his nostrils and lungs filled with ocean water by the way it gagged his tongue when it hit. He was drowning again. He couldn't breathe. But he couldn't die either.
The panic seemed to last for ages before he gave up. Every struggle of his body moved too slowly until he stopped moving at all, sinking deep into whatever depths had taken him. He opened his eyes at last and was met with a black blue. Light refracted through slow waves in a way that reminded him of the time he had gone swimming at night as a child. He was… hovering. Suspended in the depths of open ocean. Alone.
Then bubbles rapidly surrounded him like a large whale blowing its net to startle fish. With shocking force they rushed over him, knocking him aside in the water. They never broke the surface though, twisting like a vortex around him until they vaguely took a shape.
The shape of a giant dragon's head, like an ocean spirit. It did not move but when a deep voice thundered beneath the water Kai knew it was from him. The words shook through Kai's chest, demanding but patient. If only… just.
"이무기… 수영해. 일어나서 수영해."
Imugi… swim. Wake up and swim.
Then the dragon's head lunged forward with great mouth open as if it were going to devour him. Kai flinched and curled up in the waves, bracing against death but death was not what came. Instead he felt like electricity jolted through him, setting his nerves on fire throughout his entire body. He writhed and arched his back, then the command pushed him. He swam upward, suddenly desperate.
When he broke the surface, he gasped sharply…
…. And sat up board straight in a bed he did not recognize, surrounded by people he did not know at first. His hair was a wild mess, sticking to clammy skin, and he had been dressed down to only his bottom layer. Clutching at his bare chest as he gasped for air he thought he had been denied, he looked around wildly.
"He's awake," a young woman to his left said patiently.
"Good. Go fetch one of the healers, let them know," said another with a stern nod.
"Wh-where am I?" Kai managed to choke out breathlessly, his eyes wide as the first nurse came forward to check him over.
She was smiling warmly at least. "No worries, luv. You're here in Evervale. Miss Qheela brought you in, we were worried you were quite sick. Remember me, do ya?"
He didn't, though her vivid red hair was familiar.
His look must have betrayed him and she giggled but let him be, a hand pressed to his brow. A nod of approval was given and she withdrew with a kick of her tongue. "Is there anything I can do for you luv?"
Still disoriented, Kai looked around warily. Then his brain kicked in sluggishly. "Ah. You know Brea?" He asked quietly.
The woman nodded with certainty.
"May I… Can I go speak with her?"
She hesitated, pursing her lips. "She is busy and you should not leave for some time. I will send word, perhaps she can visit. If not, you will have to wait until you're steady on your feet."
The sternness of her tone was not to be argued with, so Kai nodded weakly and bent forward in some semblance of a bow. Then he sank back down into the bed, exhaustion threatening to drag him under again.
Imugi…?
The panic seemed to last for ages before he gave up. Every struggle of his body moved too slowly until he stopped moving at all, sinking deep into whatever depths had taken him. He opened his eyes at last and was met with a black blue. Light refracted through slow waves in a way that reminded him of the time he had gone swimming at night as a child. He was… hovering. Suspended in the depths of open ocean. Alone.
Then bubbles rapidly surrounded him like a large whale blowing its net to startle fish. With shocking force they rushed over him, knocking him aside in the water. They never broke the surface though, twisting like a vortex around him until they vaguely took a shape.
The shape of a giant dragon's head, like an ocean spirit. It did not move but when a deep voice thundered beneath the water Kai knew it was from him. The words shook through Kai's chest, demanding but patient. If only… just.
"이무기… 수영해. 일어나서 수영해."
Imugi… swim. Wake up and swim.
Then the dragon's head lunged forward with great mouth open as if it were going to devour him. Kai flinched and curled up in the waves, bracing against death but death was not what came. Instead he felt like electricity jolted through him, setting his nerves on fire throughout his entire body. He writhed and arched his back, then the command pushed him. He swam upward, suddenly desperate.
When he broke the surface, he gasped sharply…
…. And sat up board straight in a bed he did not recognize, surrounded by people he did not know at first. His hair was a wild mess, sticking to clammy skin, and he had been dressed down to only his bottom layer. Clutching at his bare chest as he gasped for air he thought he had been denied, he looked around wildly.
"He's awake," a young woman to his left said patiently.
"Good. Go fetch one of the healers, let them know," said another with a stern nod.
"Wh-where am I?" Kai managed to choke out breathlessly, his eyes wide as the first nurse came forward to check him over.
She was smiling warmly at least. "No worries, luv. You're here in Evervale. Miss Qheela brought you in, we were worried you were quite sick. Remember me, do ya?"
He didn't, though her vivid red hair was familiar.
His look must have betrayed him and she giggled but let him be, a hand pressed to his brow. A nod of approval was given and she withdrew with a kick of her tongue. "Is there anything I can do for you luv?"
Still disoriented, Kai looked around warily. Then his brain kicked in sluggishly. "Ah. You know Brea?" He asked quietly.
The woman nodded with certainty.
"May I… Can I go speak with her?"
She hesitated, pursing her lips. "She is busy and you should not leave for some time. I will send word, perhaps she can visit. If not, you will have to wait until you're steady on your feet."
The sternness of her tone was not to be argued with, so Kai nodded weakly and bent forward in some semblance of a bow. Then he sank back down into the bed, exhaustion threatening to drag him under again.
Imugi…?